LEIGH CAMPBELL: 'What no one told me about getting my lips tattooed.'

If you're someone who does your makeup every morning and would very kindly like to shave some time off your routine, chances are you might've thought about cosmetic tattooing.

Whether you're looking to define your brows, enhance your eyes or add a bit of colour and fullness to your lips, cosmetic tattooing has blown up in recent years — and it looks very different to what it did 10 or 20 years ago.

Meaning? That faded blue/green eyebrow tattoo situation is officially a thing of the past.

Phew!

Watch: Apparently getting tattooed is… good for you? Post continues below.

These days procedures such as semi-permanent makeup — which is very similar to cosmetic tattooing — offer an alternative option that fades slowly after around 12 to 18 months (because it doesn't penetrate as deep into the skin), meaning you can go back and choose a different shape or colour or just re-do the process.

Wanna learn more? Well, on a recent episode of You Beauty podcast, a Youbie had some questions specifically about lip-blushing.

Yolanda asked, "I'm really curious about lip-blushing tattoos. I would love to hear a bit about what's involved in the process. Is it for everyone? Is it safe for breastfeeding? How invasive is it, and what are the pros and cons?"

And in case you missed it, Mamamia's Leigh Campbell has actually had her lips tattooed — so she shared a blow-by-blow of what was involved.

"In late 2022, I had ‘lip blushing' or ‘lip tattooing' done. I am based in Sydney, but we had a Gold Coast holiday planned, and the person I had been following for years on Instagram and really liked their work happened to be based there. So, I booked in pretty much the minute I landed," she told Kelly McCarren.

"This is my lip tattoo experience, but I'd imagine it's pretty standard across the board."

What's involved in lip tattooing?

To answer Yolanda's question, no it's not for everyone, said Leigh. "I wouldn't get it done when you are breastfeeding because you need hectic numbing — like I cannot imagine having it done without numbing cream — and you can't use numbing cream when you're breastfeeding."

Now, when it comes to what the actual lip tattooing procedure involved, Leigh said it's a long appointment and you'll need to set aside at least two hours for the whole thing.

"They pop the numbing cream all over your lips and you wait about 45 minutes for that to really kick in. While you're doing that, you sit with your consultant and work out your colour, because they have lots and lots of these little pots of all different shades, and mine custom-blended like four or five shades into the colour I wanted."

Obviously there are many different colour options to choose from, and your technician will help evaluate your individual preferences to find the perfect mix for you.

For Leigh, she wanted more definition and a tiny bit of added fullness, while still having a natural-looking colour.

"I wanted my lips, but better — because my lips, probably when I was a bit more youthful, just were lip colour. But as I've aged, the edges of my lips, the vermilion border is what it's called, just kind of disappeared and blended into my face."

"The cosmetic tattooist takes the numbing cream off and then uses a lip liner just to very, very gently line the lips and make sure you're happy with where it is. Some people want slightly overlined lips, but I wanted it just where my lips were."

It's worth noting that you can also choose to just have lip liner tattooed, instead of the whole lip, depending on your individual preference.

Next comes the actual tattooing.

For the uninitiated, lip tattooing is performed using sterile needles in a tattooist gun. Yep, like an actual tattoo gun!

“She starts by doing the border," Leigh shared. "The numbing cream is great. You can just hear the little tattoo gun and she's constantly dipping that back in the colour. It didn't hurt, it just fell a bit tickly because of the numbing cream. Then almost like colouring in, but quite roughly, she does the whole lip colour. Then she goes in and kind of perfects it and really colours it in."

"At this point, my lips are bleeding," Leigh said. "They do say you can't be taking any blood thinners and check what medication you're on — all of that sort of stuff."

After taking a break, Leigh said the cosmetic tattooist then applied more numbing cream on top and continued to “perfect, perfect, perfect."

What are the results like?

"The colour when they're finished is pretty intense. Even though I went for a nudie/creamy/blushy rose. But that's going to fade about 60 per cent over the time you heal."

Here's what Leigh's lips looked like immediately after the lip tattooing procedure:

Image: supplied.

"I was given a barrier cream (like you get when you're getting a tattoo) and pain killers. My husband and I went straight to dinner and had sushi, and my lips are still a bit numb. And then I'm like, 'Oh, soy sauce!'."

Enter: Pain.

As Leigh reminded us, your lips basically have micro-cuts all over them, so steer clear of food or drinks that might be a little hectic post-procedure.

"The next day, you just keep applying this barrier cream. It's, you know, it's like Vaseline. Your lips are very, very swollen."

Three to four days later, you'll experience flaking, but as Leigh warned, you need to steer clear of picking and exfoliating your lips.

Hard, but necessary!

"Just keep the balm [application] up. Probably 10 days later, the flaking is gone. The swelling is gone after maybe four or five days, and then it just sort of slowly starts to fade. At about six weeks, I'd say that's the colour you're going to have."

Image: supplied.

When it comes to top-ups, generally the cosmetic professional will have you make a follow-up appointment where they'll then go back and fix up any patchiness or refine the outline of your lips.

"I was supposed to have a top-up. Generally, the cost will involve a top-up, but I didn't want to fly back to the Gold Coast. And I was also super happy with my first application. So, two years on, I haven't had one."

How much does lip tattooing cost?

Sooo, what's the damage?

As Leigh revealed, the full price of her treatment was around $1,250. It's certainly not cheap but it generally lasts a year or two and then continues to fade to the colour of your lips, except more defined and more outlined.

"I just wanted it to look quite natural, and it's definitely faded. But for me, I still know it's there because I know what my lips look like before. And finally, if I ever go for a facial, they're always like, 'I can't get your lipstick off' and I have to go, 'Oh, sorry, it's tattoo!'."

Overall, she said that for her, the treatment was worth it.

"You're lying there for quite a long time and I'm not great with that with my ADHD, but now basically all I wear is clear lip gloss or lip balm, or a nudie kind of colour. It's lasted a really long time."

"My cosmetic tattooist does a lot of people who want a statement lip, like a bright red or a Barbie pink, and that's definitely an option. But keep in mind, you can't really undo that. Whereas I could wear a bright lip on top."

Image: supplied.

"Will I have a top-up? Probably. I hadn't found anyone in Sydney I wanted to go to at the time, but I've heard of some really great people. So if you're going to do it, ask around, word of mouth and check out people's Instagram profiles. Of course, they're putting up their best work, so just really do some research."

Leigh also recommended taking references of your favourite lip colours to help mix and match your desired shade. "The tattooist also asked me to bring my favourite lip pencils and lipsticks, and we did a lot of play before we started."

"I'm so so happy."

So, there you have it!

Have you tried lip blushing or lip tattooing before? Ot would you try it? Share your thoughts with us in the comment section below.

Feature image: Instagram/@leighacampbell.